Tricked to tip twice

Many diners are being tricked into paying twice for service by restaurants who leave credit card slips blank for tips, a survey reveals today.

The study also highlights how more than half of central London venues automatically charge for service - though they claim it is "optional" or "discretionary".

This can leave customers feeling they have no choice but to pay between 10 and 15 per cent extra for a meal.

Trading standards officers say more people are getting caught out because of the increased use of credit cards.

Today's findings come from research carried out by inspectors in seven inner-London boroughs - including Westminster, Islington and Kensington and Chelsea.

Undercover officers visited 95 randomly chosen restaurants.

Particular attention was paid to the West End because of fears that theatre-goers and tourists are being exploited.

The survey found 68 restaurants had service charges, of which 51 were said to be optional or discretionary - meaning diners should be given a choice of whether to pay.

But these charges were found to be added automatically to customers' bills, in breach of government-Local Government Correspondent guidelines. Half the restaurants surveyed were also found to leave open the credit card slip for a gratuity, despite having already added a service charge.

They told researchers this had been done in error and promised to prevent it happening again. But when 19 restaurants were rechecked, two-thirds still left credit card slips open.

Sue Jones, of Westminster council, said: "Unfortunately this practice is growing. No matter how good the service, you should not be tricked into paying it twice."

Richard Walker-Arnott, of Kensington and Chelsea council, said restaurants "really need to mend their ways". He added: "I would encourage people to check they are being billed correctly."

Restaurants that impose voluntary service charges are in breach of a code of practice brought in alongside the Consumer Protection Act 1987, which seeks to abolish the charges and have them incorporated in a single bill.

Trading standards officers have warned some of the restaurants that they are breaching the code, and say they are ready to prosecute if they continue to fail to make cost of eating out "clear and legible". This could result in magistrates imposing fines of up to £5,000.

They say they are not looking to ban service charges but want to ensure that customers have a real choice whether to pay.

Richard Harden, co-editor of the Harden's restaurant guides, said he could see little wrong with adding an optional service charge to a bill when it is stated on the menu but added the practice of leaving a credit card slip blank for a tip, when the customer has already paid service, was "the most objectionable thing about dining out".

"It's sad the restaurant trade tries it on, and it's sad that nobody has done anything about it. It does sour a very good experience."